Mount Kusatsu-Shirane, Japan – On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 a volcanic eruption spewed rocks in the air and triggered an avalanche that killed a soldier on 2160-meter Mount Kusatsu-Shirane near Kusatsu in Gunma prefecture in Japan.
Numerous people were injured as the volcano hurtled rocks through the air around the ski area. Skiers and snowboarders on the slopes were hit. Rocks smashed into the gondola and 80 people were stuck. More rocks smashed through the mountain lodge. Debris was found up to 1 kilometer from the mountain.
The avalanche occurred roughly 30 minutes after the eruption. Six Japanese soldiers were caught in the slide. A 49-year-old soldier was killed in the avalanche. Two others were in critical condition. The soldiers were taking part in a ski training exercise at the time.
Mount Kusatsu-Shirane last erupted in 1983.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
See Also: Global Avalanche Accidents 2017/2018
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